Traveling crane.



H. SIHOEMAKER. TRAVELING CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-19. |913.

Patented May 18, 1915.

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H. SHOENIAKER.

TRAVELING CRANE. APPLICATION FILED AuG.19, 1913.

1,140,076. Patented May 18', 1915.

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wrrNEssl-:s A )Il I vElw-ron H. SHOEMA'KER. TRAVELING CRANE. APPLICATIONFILED AuG .19. 1913.

Batented May 18, 1915. |.|G 3 a; SHEETS-suina.

INVENTOR vState of New York,

HARVEY SHOEMAKER, 0F MIDDLETOWN, NEW YORK.

TRAVELING CRAN E.

specification of Letter'slatent.

Patented May 18, 1915.

l Application filed August 19, 1913. Serial No. 785,452.

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARVEY SHOEMAKER, of Middletown, in the county ofOrange and have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inTraveling Cranes, of which improvement the following is a specification.

My invention is more particularly designed for application in apparatusused for the transfer of locomotives and other heavy loads from oneportion of an erecting or repair shop to another, but is not limited tosuch specific utilization, and may, without variation of structural oroperative principle, be applied in lifting, transferring, and loweringloads of other descriptions, and in other locations of installation.

The object of my invention is to effect a structural and operativeeconomy in the overhead transfer of locomotives and other loads ofconsiderable weight, and in the buildings in which the transfermechanism is located, by enabling the transfer to be effected with areduced maximum height of the transfer mechanism, and thereby cor-yrespondingly reducing the length of hoisting cable required for liftingand lowering the load, and the height of the building in which thetransfer apparatus is installed.

The'improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth. A

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectionthrough a locomotive erecting and repair shop, illustrating anapplication of my invention; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal sectionthrough a portion of the same; Fi 3, a transverse section through acrane, illustrating a structural modification; and, Fig. 4, a plan ortop view of the same.

The transfer of locomotives from one track to another of a locomotiveshop, is, in present approved practice, effected by means of a travelingcrane, which traverses on runways above and transversely to a pluralityof parallel tracks, and is of `suiiicient capacity to lift largelocomotives, weighing one hundred tons and over, and transfer them, fromone to another track of the shop, as may be required by operatingconditions.

Inasmuch as the locomotive must, in most cases, be carried over the topsofother locomotives standing on intermediate tracks, it necessarilyfollows =that it must be lifted sufficiently high to pass entirely clearof such standing locomotives, and.` it is also necessary that, whenlifted vto such elevation, it

must be suspended entirely below the base level ofthe traveling crane bywhich it is transferred, and consequently that the runways on which thelatter traverses must be located at a sulicient height above the tracksto admit of a lower clearance of the suspended locomotive abovelocomotive .or locomotives, and an upper clearance of the suspendedlocomotive below the beams of the traveling crane. In other words, aspace, the minimum height of the standing which slightly `exceeds twicethe height of the locomotive, must, to permit of operation under presentpractice, be interposed between the tracks and the base of the travelingcrane.

My invention hereinafter described is designed to effect a materialreduction in the height of the clearance space above referred to, andthereby to correspondingly reduce the length of wire cable required forlifting the load and the height of the shop in which thedtransferapparatus is located and operate Referring to the drawings, A, is shown,in full lines, one of a plurality of parallel tracks, b, in a locomotiveshop, B, and, in dotted lines, as lifted therefrom for transfer from onetrack to another. In the practice of'my' invention, instead ofeffecting, as in present practice, this transfer, by means of a singletraveling crane, of sufiicient capacity to y,lift the ena locomotive,

as standing on traveling cranes, 1, 1, each of which is of not less thanone half that capacity. The traveling cranes, known and preferredconstruction, and which do not, in and of themselves, constitute part ofmy present invention,y are mounted on trucks, 2, which traverse onrunways, 3, extending longitudinally in the shop, above and transverselto the tracks, b, and suitably supported adjacent to the side walls ofthe building. The essential and characteristic feature of my inventionconsists in the provision of a space or gap, 1nterposed between twomembers of the traversing appliance, into which gap the upper portion ofthelocomotive may be raised, and within which it 'may be suspendedduring lts transfer from one track to the other. To this end, the twotraveling cranes, 1, .1, are, in the preferred embodiment of myinventionwhich is, in Figs. 1 and 2, herein exemplified, connected and locatedfor conjoint which may be of any suitable cient to admit the locomotivebetween them when lifted for transfer, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2.

Each of the traveling cranes is provided with motor trucks, 4, 4, whichare fitted to traverse longitudinally on track rails, 5, 5,

secured to the tops of the beam members of the traveling cranes, andcarry motors, 4, 4a, which actuate' hoisting drums, 4", 4", upon whichare wound wire cables, 6, 6, passing around drums, 7a, 7a, journaled inpulley blocks, 7, 7, the lower ends of which carry hooks, 8, 8, whichare connected to beams,

- 9, 9, supporting the front and rear ends of the locomotive, A, whichis to be transferred. rlhe hoisting mechanism being of the ordinaryconstruction, and not constituting, in and of itself, part of my presentinand independent cranes, connected together and spaced apart for theadmission of the lload between them, are provided, as above described,is considered by me to be the most desirable for practical application,my invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, as it may,without departure from its spirit and operative principle, or impairmentof its useful results, be practised in the operation 'of a singletraveling crane having two beams, or pairs of beams, connected at theirends and located at such distance apart that the space or gap betweenthem shall be of sufficient width to admit a locomotive or other loadVto be transferred,

and allow a portion thereof to be lifted.

above the level of the bases of the beam members of traveling cranes.This form of crane, which is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, comapparent tothose familiar with the opera' tion of locomotive erecting and repairshops, and particularly in connection with the construction of newbuildings of that class. In such application, there results, in additionto the reduction of length of wire cable, required, in lifting andlowering locomotives, the ability to substantially reduce the height ofthe inclosing shop building, and correspondingly reduce the cost ofconstruction and maintenance thereof, which in large railroad shops, ofthe character of those no w being erected in various localitiesthroughout the United States, is obviously a matter of substantialimportance in the interest of the owners thereof. Further, the transferof loads of much less weight than that of an entire locomotive, ascylinders, frames,

etc., is oftener required, in the operationof locomotive shops, thanthatof entire locomotives, and the utilization, for this purpose, of one oftwo separate traveling cranes, each of substantially one half thecapacity of those required in present practice, as is practicable in theapplication of my invention, obviously effects a material economy ofshop operation in the frequent transfers of the lighter loads referredto.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In an installation for the Voverhead transfer of loads, thecombination of a plurality of parallel railroad floor tracks, runwayssupported above and transversely to said tracks, two overhead travelingcranes, connected and adapted to traverse coincidently on said runwaysand separated by a gap or space sufficient to admit between them avehicle of the maximum width admissible on a floor track, and hoistingapparatus mounted on said traveling cranes, by which a load may beelevated, from one of the floor tracks, sufficiently far into the spacebetween theltraveling cranes, to be carried by said cranes over the topof a vehicle standing on another track.

2. A traveling crane'for overhead load transfer installation, comprisingtwo connected overhead traveling cranes, separated by a gap or spacesufficient to admit between them a vehicle of the maximum widthadmissible on lrailroad tracks served by said cranes, and hoistingapparatus mounted on said traveling cranes and adapted to elevate such avehicle into the space'between said cranes.

3. In an installation for the overhead transfer of loads, thecombination of a plurality of parallel railroad floor tracks, runwayssupported above-and transversely to said tracks, a traveling cranetransfer appliance adapted to traverse on said runways and comprisingbeam members extending parallel with said tracks and 'separated by a gapor space sufficient to admit between them a vehicle of the maximum widthadmissible on a floor track, and mechanism, mounted on said transferappliance, whereby a load may be lifted, from one track, suflicientlyfar into the gap between the beam members to pass over the top of avehicle standing onanother track.

HARVEY SHOEMAKER.

Witnesses:

`N. L. SATGHELL,

THOMAS MURPHY.

